WELCOME TO BILL'S CORNER!

Dear Constituents,

This month, Senator Stevens – working with Senators Inouye, Snowe, Cantwell, Vitter and Boxer – introduced a bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act. You may recall that last month the Administration submitted a reauthorization bill to Congress. We are pleased to see that many of the priorities outlined in our bill were incorporated into the Senate version of the bill. This month, I’d like to share with you a statement released by the Secretary of Commerce from the Administration concerning the Senate bill.

It’s been a long road, but we’re finally close to seeing the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorized. I look forward to working with Congress over the next few months as we help fine tune this bill. I want to thank all of our constituents for offering your ideas through the many listening sessions and constituent roundtables we’ve held over the past several years. Your feedback has been critical in helping us determine how best to strengthen the nation’s ocean policies. Through this reauthorization process, we will gain greater tools to become even better stewards of our oceans and their many valuable resources. Now here’s the Secretary’s statement:

Statement from Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on the Magnuson-Stevens Bill
President Bush has provided clear direction and called for improved tools to end overfishing and rebuild our nation's fish stocks. I congratulate Chairman Stevens and Co-Chairman Inouye on introducing a bipartisan bill that substantially embraces the legislation that the Administration transmitted to Congress. In crafting their bill, the Senators conducted a lengthy process of consultation and found significant common ground with the full range of affected interests.

NOAA Fisheries Service staff were instrumental contributors to this process and we look forward to working further with the Senate Commerce Committee to secure passage of legislation important to advancing our goal of sustainable recreational and commercial fisheries.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving this month!

Bill

Editor’s Note: This month, Bill Hogarth was elected to serve as chairman of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. He has been the U.S. delegate to the Commission since 2002, and will serve as chair for the next two years. The staff at NOAA Fisheries Service congratulates Dr. Hogarth for this impressive achievement!

References

Bush Administration’s Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Bill Website

Senate Commerce Committee’s Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Bill

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

Press Release: William Hogarth, Elected to Chair International Fisheries Commission